7/28/24 “A Remnant”
“A Remnant”
Romans 11:1-36
Everyone loves a good comeback story.
Over the years, the world of sports has offered up numerous examples of athletes who were at the top of their game….then, for whatever reason, they fell into a slump for an extended period of time…
People counted them out – but just as hope was almost gone…
they reemerge from the ashes… and stand victorious atop their sport once again.
I think of athletes like George Foreman, a world champion boxer who came out of retirement at age 40 – and then at age 45 – sent the 26-year-old reigning champ to the mat to regain the heavyweight boxing championship of the world 2 decades after he had originally held the title
….and his grills weren’t bad either!
I think of tennis player Andre Agassi, who – in 1995 – was the #1 ranked tennis player in the world. Then everything began to go downhill. He suffered a wrist injury, he began doing hard drugs, he broke up with Brook Shields…life was not good.
But Agassi cleaned himself up, started playing tennis again…and he began winning tournaments…. and in 2002 – Agassi became the oldest player in history to reach the #2 ranking in the world.
But - at least for my generation - the most inspiring comeback of all has to be that of golfer Tiger Woods.
You probably all know the story. As a young man, Tiger was a golf phenom – dominating tournaments in the late 90’s and throughout much of the 2000’s.
Tiger won 14 major championships between 1997 and 2008 but then fell into a horrible decline that was marred by injuries and personal scandals.
It all came to a head in 2017 when Woods was arrested for driving under the influence and was placed on probation.
Many people believed that Tiger’s golf career was officially over.
But Tiger began to heal up and he was soon found hitting the links once again…but no one expected him to seriously contend for another major championship after suffering so many injuries and personal setbacks.
But then came the 2019 Master’s tournament. Woods not only made the cut, but he was able to come from behind on the final day of the tournament to claim the coveted green jacket…
I still remember watching Tiger sink that final putt on 18, watching him punch his fist into the air like he had done as a younger man
….hundreds of people in the gallery thunderously applauding…
I held it together pretty well up until commentator Jim Nance – in his soothing and nostalgic voice - said these 4 simple words: “A return to Glory”
Now – personally – I’m not a big Tiger Woods fan…truth be told…I barely watch golf at all
…but something about that moment caused my eyes to water up a bit –
…as it did with many others who were watching those moments unfold that afternoon at Augusta National.
There is something about a comeback story like Tiger’s that has the potential to tap into a nostalgic part of us that rarely surfaces.
Overcoming adversity (whether it be injuries, age, poor life choices, etc.) to reclaim a former position of prominence speaks to the inner drive & determination of many people.
We love stories of redemption – or as Jim Nance put it – a “return to glory.”
Well…one of the major themes of Romans chapter 11 is a return to glory – not on an athletic field…or a battlefield…or a tennis court…or a golf course.
But an eventual return to glory for a people group – redemption for God’s chosen nation – the people of Israel.
Paul begins chapter 11 by rhetorically asking a question that many 1st century Gentile believers were beginning to ask as they noticed that only a small percentage of Jewish people were responding to the message of the gospel.
Paul says in verse 1 (Romans 11:1) “I ask then, did God reject His people?”
…and then he provides an emphatic response “…By no means!”
It is true that the Israelites rejected their own Messiah in the person of Jesus Christ…and Israel as a nation has been in a 2,000 year “spiritual slump” on account of that decision.
…and, sadly, many individual Jewish people have made the decision to reject Jesus Christ as their Messiah over the last 2,000 years – which was heartbreaking for both Paul and Jesus to consider.
Remember how Paul began the previous two chapters of Romans?
He says in verse 2 of chapter 9 (Romans 9:2) “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart”…then in verse 3 he continues (Romans 9:3-4) “For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, the people of Israel.”
Then, If you recall from last week, Paul begins chapter 10 with these words: “Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved.” (Romans 10:1)
Jesus himself displays anguish over the way in which the nation of Israel – and many individual Jews – have chosen to reject His offer of salvation.
In Matthew 23:27, Jesus says: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.”
Israel as a nation – and a vast majority of individual Israelites – are in a spiritual slump that has lasted a very long time…
Quoting the prophet Isaiah, Paul describes this slump in verse 8 (Romans 11:8) “As it is written: God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes so that they could not see and ears so that they could not hear, to this very day.”
Paul restates this heart condition of many Jewish people in 2 Corinthians 3:14, when he says: “But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away.”
On a recent flight from NYC to Florida, I sat next to a Jewish Rabbi who was reading something in Hebrew for the entire 2.5 hour flight.
He was so engrossed in what I assume was a Hebrew book of instruction or prayer…
I did feel a bit self-conscious watching Top-Gun Maverick on the screen in front of me for 2 hours - with a praying Rabbi right next to me the entire time…
Who knows - maybe he was praying for me, I don’t know…it was a bit surreal.
But I also felt compassion for this man…I so respected his focused dedication to the text he was reading.
All the while hearing these words of Paul in my mind reminding me of how he - and the vast majority of his ethnic race - don’t know Jesus as their savior.
However, one of the central messages of Romans chapter 11 is also that the slump of the Israelites won’t last forever.
There is coming a time when the nation of Israel – and a very large percentage of Jews – will turn back to God in acceptance of their Messiah, Jesus Christ.
Verses 25&26 (Romans 11:25-26) describe this ‘return to glory’ when it says: “…Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved…”
These passages are referring to the time of the Great Tribulation – the 70th week of Daniel’s famous prophecy – in which there will occur a great revival within the nation of Israel…
God will once again draw unto himself large numbers of Jewish people who are alive during that 7 year period of time….talk about a return to glory!
For the Jewish people - this will be the comeback of all comebacks!
So, even though Israel has rejected God – and currently continues to live apart from the saving grace of Jesus - God has not rejected Israel.
He still has great plans for the nation in which He originally chose to reveal Himself to the world some 3,500 years ago!
Many of the promises (Covenants) that God has made to Abraham and the prophets are unconditional promises – meaning that regardless of what Israel does, God will continue to honor those promises.
There are some who believe that God is entirely finished with the Jews and that the church has completely replaced Israel as the beneficiary of His nationalistic & spiritual promises of deliverance…
However, I believe that Romans chapter 11 – as well as other passages of scripture dealing with the future redemption of Israel - put this notion to rest.
God does indeed have plans – big plans – for the Israelites in the future…
…A future that I believe is coming sooner than later.
Paul also describes the nature of Israel’s current spiritual slump by using a very interesting illustration – that of grafting new branches to an old olive tree.
Look with me at verse 17 (Romans 11:17) “If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not boast over those branches.”
In this illustration, the broken branches are non-believing Jews and the branches that have been grafted in are believing Gentiles…that’s you and me.
In the world of horticulture, grafting itself is an amazing process.
It involves attaching the top part of one plant, called the scion, to the root system of another plant, called the rootstock.
The scion carries the positive qualities of the mother plant, while the stock provides the root system for the new plant.
What a beautiful illustration of how God has currently brought Gentiles into the spiritual household of Israel…
and how Israel (The Root) is not dead.
Through this process of spiritual grafting, God has made Gentiles fellow recipients of His everlasting Covenants…we have been made spiritual descendants of Abraham.
It’s also very important to remember – as Paul points out – that just as the scion owes its vitality to the root system…we Gentiles owe our spiritual vitality to what God accomplished through his promises to the Jewish nation.
Remember…no Jewish nation, would mean no Jewish Messiah…no Jewish Messiah would mean no Jesus…no Jesus would mean no redemption and deliverance for you and me.
…we owe a lot to the root system…a root system that is currently struggling to survive…but a root system that still provides us with a foundation for our faith.
Verse 20 (Romans 11:20) describes the current nature of Israel (the broken branches): “…they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith…”
Faith has always been the key to salvation – in the time of Abraham…in the time of Moses….In the time of Jesus…and in our time as well.
Israel has failed to believe in the person of Jesus Christ (Who is the way, the truth, and the life)…and hence, their spiritual slump has endured these many centuries.
However, in verse 23 (Romans 11:23) God begins to provide hope once again for the house of Israel. It reads: “And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.”
…And as we have already seen from other verses in this chapter – that is exactly what will happen during the tribulation period.
God will once again reveal Himself through His chosen people – and…through Christ…He will rule over this world for 1,000 years during a time the Bible calls the Millenium…
This will be a time in which the nation of Israel will once again be the people by which God’s Kingdom is governed.
This is just one reason why it’s so important for our country to stand with Israel today.
Israel is far from a perfect country, but the grafted bond that many of us who are Christian-Americans have with Israel – I believe – compels us to support legislative efforts to stand with them politically and economically.
Lastly, I’d like for us to focus on one specific word that Paul uses repeatedly in the 11th chapter of Romans
…that word is ‘Remnant’.
If you look up the definition of the word ‘remnant’, it will read something like this: “A small remaining quantity of something” or “A surviving trace.”
The other day, I was strolling through Menards when I saw some rolled pieces of carpet that all had the word ‘remnant’ written on their price tags.
These relatively small pieces of carpeting were left over from a much larger carpet piece that had undoubtedly been used in a project somewhere.
We tend to use the word remnant with numerous applications these days.
This past week I was at a dinner where there had been numerous triple berry pies brought in….after a long line of people had gone through, there were only remnants of those pies left.
In the world of archaeology, people refer to their physical findings as remnants of an ancient civilization.
In a woodworking garage, or in an upholstery shop, you will see remnants of wood and cloth on the floor…
Biblically speaking, the word remnant has a similar – yet different – meaning.
It’s similar to these other applications in that throughout all ages of human history, there has always been a relatively small number of individuals who were people of faith in the one, true God.
In verses 2 – 5 of Romans chapter 11, Paul illustrates this truth by referring to the account of Elijah back in the book of 1 Kings.
Remember the story of Elijah and his contest with the prophets of Baal? (A false god)
There had been a severe drought and famine in the land…
So God sent Elijah to confront the evil king Ahab and his just-as-evil wife Jezebel…along with their many priests and prophets who were actively worshipping a nature god by the name of Baal-Melkart.
Elijah challenges these false prophets to a contest to see whose god is the one true god.
Whichever god was able to send fire down and burn up a meat offering on an alter would be recognized and worshipped as the one true god…
If you remember the story, the prophets of Baal begin by attempting to coerce Baal into sending fire down…they chant, they dance, they even cut themselves with knives…nothing happens.
Then its Elijahs turn. He calmly prays to Yahweh and immediately the Lord sends down so much fire that it burns up the entire alter, soil, water….even the rocks that were nearby.
Soon after this, Elijah becomes afraid and runs for his life thinking that he is the last faithful Israelite in all of the land.
To which God encourages Elijah with these words: “…I reserve seven thousand in Israel – all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him.” (1 Kings 19:18)
God is describing the remnant of faithful followers to Elija… just as Paul is describing the faithful remnant of Jewish believers to his readers in verse 5 of Romans chapter 11 (Romans 11:5)
“So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.”
Paul was letting Gentile believers know that – despite small numbers – there were still Jewish Christians coming to Christ.
Folks, this remains true today. There is currently a remnant of Jewish believers today who have given their life to Jesus Christ – people who will be with their savior in heaven for eternity.
According to one source, there are currently around 350,000 Messianic Jews worldwide…about 20,000 of them live in Israel…
This is called a remnant.
In His sovereignty, God has always ensured that there has been…and will be… genuine, people of faith – regardless of what time period they are living in.
…and – in terms of numbers - genuine believers (The remnant) will always be in the minority…. sometimes, the vast minority.
Noah and his family were members of the remnant. (They WERE the remnant)
Abraham and his family were members of the remnant.
Moses & Joshua were members of the remnant.
Elijah and the prophets were members of the remnant.
Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were members of the remnant.
Esther & Mordecai were members of the remnant.
Ruth & Naomi were members of the remnant.
John the Baptist, Zacharias & Elizabeth, Mary & Joseph, Simeon, Anna, the disciples, Cornelius, Barnabus, Paul…all members of the remnant.
Countless individuals throughout the middle ages who remained true to the teachings of God’s Word concerning a saving relationship with Jesus Christ…In spite of…the errant doctrine and corruption that had infiltrated the ‘official church’ and much of its leadership….all members of the remnant.
The brave men & women of the reformation who faithfully brought God’s Word back to its rightful position of prominence in the church…members of the remnant.
…And countless individuals ever since who have genuinely given their lives to Jesus - and who display the obedient fruit of their true confession of faith.
….all members of God’s remnant.
And those of you here today.
All of you who have invited Jesus to be Lord & Savior of your life…
All of you who have the Holy Spirit indwelling you…
All of you who live out your genuine faith through acts of obedience & love
…God refers to all of you as His remnant chosen by grace.
And one day, God will specifically call 144,000 Jewish believers to preach the name of Jesus to the rest of the world just before He returns to this earth as King of kings and Lord of Lords.
…a remnant who will experience a ‘return to glory’ unlike any other.
..And if you are in Christ, you will be in heaven’s gallery to watch it all!
Let’s Pray.